Method and system for offering and managing an exchanging of property

ABSTRACT

A computer system for offering property for exchange over a computer network includes a master database for storage of information pertaining to the property that is located on at least one master server which can be accessed by an exchangee, e.g. through a browser. The system further includes local agent databases which store information pertaining to property offered for exchange by a particular exchanger. An agent server accesses the master server so as to transfer information stored on an agent database to the master database. The computer system also includes an exchange management program adapted to record information relating to the stages of exchange of property between the exchanger and the exchangees, wherein the exchangees access the master server and request particular information from the master database pertaining to the property.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a computer system and a method for offering andmanaging the exchange of property, and in particular real estateproperty, over a computer network such as the Internet.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Computer networks such as the Internet can be used for offering servicesand products for sale to the public by a business and for business tobusiness transactions. Part of this popularity might be attributed tothe fact that a larger number of potential customers/clients can bereached at low cost compared with conventional forms of promotingproducts/services, such as by brochures and expensive advertising.

In recent times real estate agencies have been offering real estateproperty services for sale/lease/auction/inspection etc, to the publicvia the Internet. Typically a person who wishes to use the Internet topurchase a property will access a website and may either manually vieweach of the properties offered for sale/lease/auction/inspection, oralternatively they may enter a search (for example by location), so asto view those properties which are listed on the real estate Agent'sdatabase.

A limitation with this method is that as the Internet can be accessed byany number of people, the real estate Agent will be constrained by thenumber of properties which they can offer at any one time. It can bedifficult for any number of real estate Agents to locate selectedproperty listings on the Internet in a central location and in a formatwhich allows them to update the listings automatically. Hence, themanagement of up to date information on the website can becomecumbersome.

Furthermore, if other Agents wanted to list their properties on anotherAgents web site, the format in which the data is transferred between thetwo agencies may not be compatible, and hence there may be difficultiesin transferring information.

Additionally, previous methods of selling property via the Internet,have involved mere searching techniques in order to match buyers withsellers. There has been no way of additionally managing or facilitatingthe exchange of property, during the transaction phase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved computer systemfor facilitating the exchange of property over a computer network.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer system for offering at least one property for exchange over acomputer network (ie such as the Internet), the properties being offeredfor exchange by at least one Exchangor to at least one Exchangee, thesystem including:

-   -   a Master database for storage and dissemination of information        pertaining to the properties, the Master database being located        on at least one Master server which can be accessed by an        Exchangee in order to obtain information relating to said        properties;    -   at least one Agent database which stores information pertaining        to properties to be offered for exchange by one or more        Exchangors, each Agent database adapted to access the Master        server so as to transfer information stored on said Agent        database, to the Master database; and    -   a data exchange management program associated with said at least        one Agent database, said data exchange management program        adapted to manage and record in the Agent database, information        relating to the stages of exchange of property between the        Exchangor and the Exchangees, wherein information relating to        the stages of exchange of property between the Exchangor and the        Exchangee is managed and recorded in said Agent database and the        Master database is programmed to interface with said Agent        databases to receive information relating to new properties, and        updated information relating to properties already stored in        said Master database, directly from said Agent database.

Advantageously the information pertaining to the property includes aplurality of information items which relate to particular items of aproperty. The information items of a particular property typicallydescribe unique features of said property and are individuallysearchable by an Exchangee or Exchangor.

Advantageously tangible services relating to the property may also beoffered for exchange to an Exchangee.

Optionally, the system requests a user of the system (ie. such as anExchangor or an Exchangee), to enter information relating to thecriteria for the type of property that the user is interested inexchanging/obtaining. The system may store the Exchangee information onthe Master database, which information can be used by the searchcriteria, to match the search criteria with the information items thatare stored on the Master database. Typically, a number of matched itemswill result and the user can be presented with a number of propertiesthat have been matched with the search criteria.

The system may also allow a user to enter further search criteria sothat the number of properties which have been matched are reduced sothat the user obtains details of those properties that are of the mostinterest to them.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the property is real estateproperty offered for exchange to an Exchangee (ie. such as a real estatepurchaser or leasee), by way of a sale or lease. In such an embodiment,the information items relating to the real estate property can includeinformation items relating to the particular features of the property,such as location, price, size of the property, number of bedrooms,photos, contracts, plans or video programs etc.

The Master database may be a relational database so that the informationitems stored within the database is structured to recognise therelationship of the stored information to a particular property to otherproperties. In this regard, a first item of property which relates to asecond item of property, may be presented to a user on a first web pagewhich is linked to a second web page (ie. such as via a hypertext link).For example, if the first item of property related to a shop unit andwas located within a shopping complex, the shop unit itself could beoffered for lease and the details of this property would be presented toa user on a first web page. On the first web page, a hypertext linkcould exist to a second web page providing information regarding theshopping complex in which the shop unit is located. Such a featureallows a person considering leasing the shop unit with an opportunity toconsider the amenities that may be offered by the shopping complex.Furthermore, there may be further links to other shop units within thecomplex, that are offered for lease and/or sale from the web page of theshopping complex.

Advantageously the data exchange management program also include atransaction management program which assists a user in managing aproperty exchange transaction. Once an Exchangee has selected the itemof property that they are considering exchanging (ie. for money), thedata exchange management program will assist the user in negotiating theexchange by managing and recording the stages of the propertytransaction.

Typically, once an Exchangee has considered the item of property and hasexpressed an interest in entering into negotiations with the Exchangorof the item of property, the transaction management program records thatthe two parties are in negotiation. The Exchangee may express interestin the item of property by selecting an “ENTER TRANSACTION” link objectlocated on the dedicated web page of the item of property. Thisinformation is then typically submitted to the Exchangor of the item ofproperty.

If the two parties come to agree on the initial offer, then they mayenter into discussions as to the agreed terms of the transaction,otherwise the status of the transaction is recorded as “dead” by thetransaction management program and negotiations do not go any further.

Once the agreed terms of the transaction have been settled, the statusof the transaction is then recorded in the database by the data exchangemanagement program as a record within the Agent database.

After the agreed terms have been recorded, an Agreement may be generatedby the Agent database, and a hard copy of the Agreement may then besigned by the two parties. Settlement can thus reached and payment madeby the Exchangee to the Exchangor. In this way all stages of thetransaction are recorded by the transaction management program and ahistorical record of the transaction is maintained.

An Agent database may be managed by a particular Exchangor, such as anAgent Exchangor.

The Agent Exchangor may select particular properties that they wish tooffer for exchange over the Internet and then upload the informationpertaining to these particular properties to the Master database. TheAgent Exchangor is able to access the Master database via the Masterserver, by being allocated an authorised user identification and averification password.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method for offering at least one property for exchange over a computernetwork (ie such as the Internet), the properties being offered forexchange by at least one Exchangor to at least one Exchangee, the methodincluding the steps of:

-   -   providing a Master database for storage and dissemination of        information pertaining to the properties, the Master database        being located on at least one Master server which can be        accessed by an Exchangee in order to obtain information relating        to said properties;    -   providing at least one Agent database which stores information        pertaining to properties to be offered for exchange by one or        more Exchangors, each Agent database adapted to access the        Master server so as to transfer information stored on said Agent        database, to the Master database; and    -   providing a data exchange management program associated with the        at least one Agent database, said data exchange management        program adapted to manage and record in the Agent database,        information relating to the stages of exchange of property        between the Exchangor and the Exchangees, wherein information        relating to the stages of exchange of property between the        Exchangor and the Exchangee is managed and recorded in the Agent        database and the Master database is programmed to interface with        the Agent database to receive information relating to new        properties, and updated information relating to properties        already stored in the Master database, directly from said Agent        database.

Preferably said stages of exchange of said property is recorded as dataand includes any one or more of the following stages of exchange:negotiation of exchange of said property; agreed legal terms of exchangeof said property; details of signed deal of said property exchange;settlement of said exchange; payment of said property.

Where in the specification the term “database” is used, the term refersnot only to a collection of structured data, but also includes withinits scope, a database management system having software that handles thestorage, retrieval and updating of data in a computer and integratingthe data with other files and/or applications.

Where in the specification the term “property” is used, the termincludes within its scope not only real estate property, but businesses,time share offerings, or vendible articles such as cars and marinevessels.

Where in the specification the term “exchange” is used, the termincludes within its scope a sale, lease, hire offering, or auction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of thepresent invention, preferred forms of the invention will now bedescribed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an embodiment of a computer systemin which Exchangors offer property for exchange over the Internet, topotential Exchangees;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a first set of exchange stages forthe computer system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a further second set of exchangestages for the computer system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates the stages involved in recording a transaction duringthe exchange of property from the inquiry stage to the finalisation ofthe transaction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a computer system 10 for offeringproperty which in this embodiment, is real estate property, over theInternet. The information relating to the property is listed on a Masterdatabase located on a Master server and is shown generally as listingsexchange database 12. The information stored as records in the listingsexchange database 12, can be accessed from a dedicated listings exchangewebsite”, which presents the information on a web page, so that theinformation is accessible by a number of other Agents databases showngenerally as 14,16 and 18.

Additionally, the listings exchange database 12 can also be viewed byany person on the Internet such as shown by persons using computerconnected to the Internet 20,22 or mobile phone 24 having WirelessApplication Protocol (WAP) technology. Internet browsers provided on thecomputers 20,22,24 can be used to locate and/or download the web page 11of the dedicated listings exchange database 12 website. It can be seenthat person using browser 20, also has access to their own personaldatabase 25, which is able to interface with the information located onthe listings exchange, as will be described below.

The Agent database 18 is used by a number of persons involved with themanagement and operation of a real estate agency, shown by broken lines26. The Agent database 18 resides on a dedicated server for the realestate agency 26.

The information on the Agent database 18 may be used by a number ofpeople within the real estate agency 26, who are involved in themanagement and facilitation of the sale, lease or auction of real estateproperty. The property salesmen 28, the property manager 30, theaccounts department 32 and the agency administration 34, can all use theAgent database as a record keeping system and for general operation ofthe real estate agency 26. It will be realised that the information onthe Agent database 18 may also be used for other business purposes, suchas for marketing.

All of the property listings for each of the properties under themanagement of the real estate agency 26 are on to the Agent database 18.From time to time when it is desired that certain properties are to beoffered for sale, auction or lease over the Internet, the salesman 28selects those properties listed on the Agent database 18, and enters arequest to the Agent database 18, that these properties be listed on thelistings exchange database 12.

In order to list the selected properties of Agent database 18 onto thelistings exchange database 12, the server on which the Agent database 18resides (not shown), connects to a server containing HTML datarepresenting web page 11, which also allows access to the listingsexchange database 12. The listings exchange database 12 is then updatedwith the new listings property selected from the records of Agentdatabase 18.

The software of the Agent database 18 is compatible with the software ofthe listings exchange database 12, so that information between thedatabases can be transferred.

It should be realised that Agent databases 14 and 16 are also managedand run by other real estate agencies (not shown), and that any numberof agencies can be connected to the listings exchange database 12 viathe Internet.

Each of the real estate properties which are stored as records in theAgent database 18, store information criteria pertaining to theparticular item of property which the real estate agency 26 is offeringfor sale. The information items combined together provide a summarydescription of the property which is being offered for sale, lease orauction over the Internet. For example, the criteria might include thebuilding type (ie. whether it be a house, townhouse, unit, office blockor some other commercial property), the price range of the propertybeing offered for sale, the number of rooms, the floor size and thelocation etc.

This criteria can be used by any person who accesses the listingsexchange database 12 via the Internet, to search for a propertyaccording to the recorded information. For example, person using webbrowser on computer 20 may search for a house located within aparticular area and of a certain price range and of a particulardescription (ie. they enter the location of where they would like to buyand the number of bedrooms), by entering search information on a virtualform located on the web site 11 to access the listings exchange database12 and present it to a user of computer 20.

The search information is then sent to the listings exchange database12, wherein the search information is matched with those propertiesrecorded on the listings exchange database 12 whose information criteriacorresponds with the search information. A list of matched properties(any one of the listed properties could have originated from any one ofthe Agent databases 14,16 and 18), can then be downloaded and presentedto the person using computer 20.

Computer 20 may have installed a “personal” database manager 25, whichcan be downloaded from the web site 11 of the listings exchange database12. The-personal database manager 25 records those properties which havebeen matched and downloaded as described above, and allows a person toselect from the matched property list, those properties of which theywould like to make an ‘active inquiry’.

An active inquiry results when the person using web browser 20, wishesto find out further information in regard to the selected property fromthe real estate agency with which the property is listed. Thisarrangement allows the personal database manager 25 able to communicatedirectly with any one of the Agent databases 14,16 or 18, so that theactive enquires may be communicated to the real estate agencyresponsible for the real estate property listed on the exchange andactive inquiry may be automatically recorded in the Agent databases ofthe real estate property. The active inquiry may be communicateddirectly to the real estate agency by electronic mail when the propertyis selected as an active inquiry in the personal database manager 25.Direct and automatic communication is possible as the software of thepersonal database manager 25 has interface compatibility with thesoftware of the agency database.

Alternatively, an active inquiry for a particular property listing mayalso be communicated to a property consultant who acts on behalf of theperson using computer 25, with the real estate agency responsible forthe listed property which is an active inquiry.

It will be appreciated that as any number of Agent databases may storeinformation on the listings exchange database 12, persons using computer20,22 or WAP phone 24, are not restricted to one particular agency'sdatabase, but can access listings exchange database 12 which containsinformation from the databases 14,16 or 18 and any database listed withthe Listings Exchange 12. Furthermore as the Agent databases 14,16 and18 each have access to the listings exchange database 12, which hascompatible software as that of the listings exchange database 12, all ofthe information can be easily updated.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 shows in further detail, the stages by which anExchangor and an Exchangee may be matched by the computer system 10 toexchange property which in this example, is real estate property, viathe Internet.

A potential Exchangee is shown in the form of prospect contact 34 whodownloads the web site 11 of the listings exchange database 12. He/sheinitiates a “new inquiry” at stage 36, for a real estate propertydetailing the criteria for the property that they are interested inobtaining (as described above). Likewise, new listings at stage 38 froma real estate agency have been stored as records in the listingsexchange database 12, in addition to the-information describing theseproperties.

The new inquiry criteria from stage 36 is then matched with storedinformation for the properties at stage 33 so as to generate a list atstage 35 which is output back to the prospective contact 34. The matchedlist are the output of the stored properties that are within the inquirycriteria.

The prospect contact 34 then selects (at stage 37), those properties ofwhich they want to enter into an ‘active inquiry’ (as described above).In this way, the prospective contact 34 has qualified themselves as anactive inquiry. Those properties which have been selected as activeenquires at stage 37 are communicated as described above, to theresponsible Agent (stage 40) who has the listing, the active inquiryproperties.

Once an active inquiry has been initiated by prospective contact 34, itis recorded in an active inquiry management system 42 located on anagency database associated with agency 26 (ref

FIG. 1). The active inquiry management system 42 assists a real estateagency in handling the active inquiry by automatically generatingreminders to the agency 26 that an active inquiry has been initiated andfurther assists the agency 26 in preparing sales material and furtherinformation relating to the properties which have been selected. Variousfunctions that can be performed automatically by the active inquirymanagement system 42 in handling an inquiry through to the negotiationstage, for example, the active inquiry management system 42 allows anExchangor such as a real estate Agent to manage the new inquiry 36 bygenerating prompts to contact the prospective contact 34 at the variousstages of the inquiry. For example after the prospect contact 34 hasbeen offered a list of properties which have been matched against theirinquiry 36, an operator of the active inquiry management system is thenreminded to contact the prospect contact 34 after a period of time inwhich the prospect contact 34 can consider the properties which havebeen matched.

A search may be first conducted on the listings exchange database 12 viathe Internet, to match listed properties thereon with the requirementsof the inquiry 36, another search may be conducted on the agencydatabase associated with agency 26. In this regard, as the Agentdatabase uses the same software program as the listings exchangedatabase 12, a search for a prospective contact may be conducted on theAgent database associated with the agency 26.

Should a property which has been in the active inquiry stage progressfurther to the initiation of an actual offer by the contact 34, theinitial offer will be recorded in a deal management system 52 which willbe described further below.

Once the deal management phase has been finalised, all records offinancial transactions are kept and maintained in a business management54 system. This system may be used for accounting purposes by the Agency26. After the transaction has either terminated or finalised, ahistorical record of the deal management sequence is then kept in thehistorical archive management system 56 so that records can be retrievedfor information purposes and so as to note that a particular prospecthas already viewed and negotiated with a prior listing.

FIG. 4 illustrates the various stages that are carried out by the dealmanagement system. Each of the arrows represents flow of a data via abus in a physical system.

The prospective contact 34 and the agency 26 (who in this case acts forthe owner of a property) enter the negotiation stage 58, in which thetwo parties negotiate the terms by which the transaction of the realestate property shall take place. For example they shall negotiate theprice of the property and the conditions of sale (ie. such as the amountof deposit). Once the negotiation process has been completed the partiesthen proceed to the agreed terms of sale for the property (stage 60).

The terms of the Agreement and the stages of negotiation to which thetwo parties have been engaged are recorded in the historical archivemanagement system 56, so that accurate records are kept of all stages ofthe negotiation. The information may be uploaded from the historicalarchive management system 56 for dissemination on the listings exchange12 database and can be used as a historical transaction record forcomparison, use, or purchase, for other properties recorded on thelistings exchange database 12.

Additionally, the records of the stages of negotiation may be done inreal time if the negotiation is done via the Internet, ie. such as viaemail or via verbal communication, formatted in TCP/IP code or frominput of a “visual form” in HTML code.

Once the agreed terms have been completed the deal is then signed (stage62) and again may be uploaded to the listings exchange database 12. Ahard copy can be printed by downloading a copy of the Agreement in PDFformat generated by the deal management system 52 so that each party cansign the Agreement.

At any stage of the transaction from 58-62, the process can beterminated as shown via arrow 64 and the deal is then recorded as being“DEAD” at stage 66. Hence, from the time the deal goes to dead at stage66, the prospect may indicate that they are no longer wishing to pursueany further enquires and the deal management system records the inquiryas “INACTIVE” at stage 68. Alternatively the inquiry might be recordedas “ACTIVE” at stage 70 and the process is repeated back to the activeinquiry management system 42.

Should however the deal have been signed, the property is then settledat stage 72 which is again recorded by the deal management system 52 inthe Agent database of agency 26, and then final payment is received atstage 74.

This information data for the stages of exchange of property in steps 58to 74 may include the date and time of the stages of transaction, anymonetary amount (ie such as sale value), terms of any legal agreementreached between the Exchangor and Exchangee and any specialised notesconcerning the exchange (ie such as notification by the Exchangor orExchangee that a property has certain defects such as cracks in thewalls).

As the Agent databases 14,16 18, and the listings exchange database 12have compatible software and records coterminous fields relating to thereal estate property, it is efficient for new properties to be uploadedfrom the agency databases to the listings exchange database 12.

Additionally, this prevents re-entry of data which saves time andreduces the occurrence of errors. Consequently, the maintenance ofaccurate information is possible for the listings exchange database.

The software for the Agent databases may also be downloaded from thewebsite of the listings exchange database 12. In this way, any number ofAgent databases may add properties to the listings exchange database 12,which provides a greater selection of properties available to a personsearching the database.

All stages of the deal management system may be recorded and historicaldata kept by the deal management database. Hence, reliable informationas to the time taken and processes involved in selling the property canbe recorded. This allows a manager of such a business as a real estateagency to determine the performance of each sales person who is sellingthe property, the likelihood and ease with which the property is beingsold and any historical data which may be used to determine the profitsgenerated by the sale, dependent upon the time spent by the personselling the property. In this way better records and management of theoperations of the real estate agency can be kept and the sale ofproperty is facilitated by the improved record keeping system.

It should be realised that although the invention as hereinbeforedescribed relates predominantly to real estate property it may alsorelate to other forms of property such as boats, cars and furniturebusinesses, services, hotel accommodation etc.

The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention andmodifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto,without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example,the exchange of property may be over any form of computer network suchas the Internet, an Intranet or a telecommunications system with WAPcapability.

1. A method for offering properties for exchange over a computernetwork, the properties being offered for exchange by an Agent acting onbehalf of at least one Exchangor to at least one Exchangee, the methodincluding the steps of: providing a Master database for storage anddissemination of property listings comprising information pertaining tothe properties, the Master database being located on at least one Masterserver configured for accessing and viewing by an Exchangee to obtaininformation relating to said properties, the Master server comprisingAgent database software; downloading the Agent database software fromthe Master server to at least one Agent server; providing from the Agentdatabase software downloaded to an Agent server of the at least oneAgent servers at least one Agent database on the respective Agent serverwhich stores information pertaining to properties offered for exchangeby one or more Exchangors, each Agent database configured to access theMaster server to transfer information stored on said Agent database tothe Master database; providing a data exchange management programassociated with the at least one Agent database, the data exchangemanagement program being configured to manage and record in the Agentdatabase information relating to the stages of exchange of propertybetween an Exchangor and an Exchangee; receiving new property listingsinto the Agent database; receiving management of existing propertylistings into the Agent database, using the data exchange managementprogram; receiving an indication via the data exchange managementprogram in the Agent database of property listings which the Agentselects for uploading from the Agent database to the Master database;providing a connection between the Master database and the Agentdatabase to enable said selected property listings for uploading fromsaid Agent database to said Master database; and receiving informationrelating to said selected property listings in said Master database, andcausing said selected property listings to be disseminated by saidMaster database.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidstages of exchange of said property is recorded as data, said recordeddata relating to any one or more of the following stages of exchange:negotiation of exchange of said property; agreed legal terms of exchangeof said property; details of signed deal of said property exchange;settlement of said exchange; or payment of said property.
 3. The methodas claimed in claim 2, wherein said recorded data relates to any one ormore of the following information items: date and/or time of stages ofexchange of said property; monetary amount of exchange of said property;specialised notes between the Exchangee and Exchangor concerning theexchange; real estate property location; price; property size; number ofbedrooms; photos; contracts; plans; or video programs.
 4. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said information pertaining to said propertyincludes a plurality of information items which relate to particularitems of a property, each of said information items being individuallysearchable by an Exchangee or Exchangor.
 5. The method as claimed inclaim 4, wherein said property is real estate property offered forexchange to an Exchangee, by sale or lease.
 6. The method as claimed inclaim 1, said method further including the step of receiving inquiryinformation from an Exchangee relating to the criteria for the type ofproperty for which the Exchangee is searching.
 7. The method as claimedin claim 6, wherein said property is real estate property offered forexchange to an Exchangee, by sale or lease.
 8. The method as claimed inclaim 1, said method further including the step of storing Exchangeeinformation on said Master database.
 9. The method as claimed in claim1, wherein said property is real estate property offered for exchange toan Exchangee, by a sale or lease.
 10. A computer system for offeringproperties for exchange over a computer network, the properties beingoffered for exchange by an Agent acting on behalf of at least oneExchangor to at least one Exchangee, the system including: a Masterdatabase for storage and dissemination of information pertaining to theproperties, the Master database being located on at least one Masterserver comprising at least one processor and operatively associatedmemory, the Master server configured for accessing by an Exchangee toobtain information relating to said properties, the Master servercomprising Agent database software; at least one Agent server configuredto download the Agent database software from the Master server to therespective Agent server; at least one Agent database coterminous withthe Master database which stores information pertaining to propertylistings offered for exchange by one or more Exchangors, each Agentdatabase configured to access the Master server to transfer informationstored on said Agent database to the Master database, the at least oneAgent database being provided from the Agent database software and beinglocated on the at least one Agent server; a data exchange managementprogram associated with the at least one Agent database, the dataexchange management program being configured to manage existing propertylistings in the at least one Agent database, receive management ofexisting property listings and record in the at least one Agent databaseinformation relating to the stages of exchange of property between anExchangor and an Exchangee; and a connection between the Master databaseand the Agent database to enable selected property listings foruploading from said Agent database to said Master database, and receiveinformation relating to said selected property listings in said Masterdatabase, and cause said selected property listings to be disseminatedby said Master database.
 11. The computer system according to claim 10,wherein information pertaining to the property includes a plurality ofinformation items which relate to particular items of a property and theinformation items are individually searchable by an Exchangee orExchangor.
 12. The computer system as claimed in claim 11, wherein thedata exchange management program further includes a transactionmanagement program to assist a user in managing a property exchangetransaction.
 13. The computer system as claimed in claim 10, wherein thedata exchange management program further includes a transactionmanagement program to assist a user in managing a property exchangetransaction.
 14. The computer system as claimed in claim 13, whereinsaid transaction management program assists an Exchangor in negotiatingthe exchange by managing and recording the stages of exchange of theproperty transaction.
 15. The computer system as claimed in claim 14,wherein said transaction management program records an Exchangee'sexpression of interest in entering into negotiations with an Exchangorfor an item of property.
 16. The computer system as claimed in claim 15,wherein said transaction management program records that the two partiesare in negotiation.
 17. The computer system as claimed in claim 16,wherein said system includes a historical management database to recordevents associated with the exchange of property.
 18. The computer systemas claimed in claim 15, wherein said transaction management programrecords that the two parties have terminated negotiation.
 19. Thecomputer system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said system includes ahistorical management database to record events associated with theexchange of property.
 20. The computer system as claimed in claim 14,wherein said transaction management program records that the two partieshave terminated negotiation.
 21. The computer system as claimed claim10, wherein said system includes a historical management database torecord events associated with the exchange of property.
 22. The computersystem as claimed in claim 10, wherein said at least one Agent databaseresides on a different server than the server on which said at least oneMaster database is located.